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So true, Shane. While waiting (and waiting ...) at my local mobile emporium recently I picked up a Windows phone and got to chatting with an employee who has the same view. It's a zippy, intuitive platform. The hardware was solid, camera better than most. The app store may not have 75 different versions of Solitaire, but the major apps are present.

Out in consumer land, it's as if Windows Phone doesn't exist. Which is strange because it's a capable platform. I've never seen a company put so much into a product and get so little back from the public. But the clock's ticking. Windows Phone has been around for almost four years now -- and 1-2% market share is just unacceptable.

It can't afford to get out and it can't afford the cost it's incurring to stay in. This will be one of Nadella's most difficult decisions. If I were him, I'd try to find a more promising initiative. The Windows Phone smacks of Microsoft's old Apple envy.

Love my Windows phone UI and experience. But out of the gate they didn't appeal to the developer/techie audience enough to get them interested. Here are a couple of reasons why:

1. They expected a developer fee similar to Apple, not a major fee but still annoying enough to discourage casual development and testing of the hardware.

2. The initial release required a registry hack to use the phone's file system and bypass the "Zune" app. Being able to copy files to and from the device easily is a major appeal to techie types.

Most of the people I work with who develop with Microsoft-centric software have Android or iPhones. I know of two instances where people tried (and enjoyed) a Windows phone, but then replaced it with Android/iPhone when the screen cracked. Microsoft has some great development tools, but needs to connect better with its existing base of developers.

I really like my Windows (7.5) phone. Now that I am finally out of my @##$ contract, I might upgrade to 8.1.

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